With M2M and the Internet of things we have been discussing since 2008 about the issues that a machine might create when manufactured in one country (using an IMSI/based in the manufacturers country), sold and used in another country. Everyone is amused by the story of a machine roaming, imaging machines crossing borders and passport control, after all only humans roam. But the fact is it won’t be long before more machines than humans roam and are permanently roaming. Operators will have to rectify all the transparency issues, network capacity challenges and opportunities this might bring. Naturally, manufacturing happens in one location within geographic regions and is rarely going to happen in the country where the machine will be utilised.

But what if humans were permanent roamers too? In the EU Roaming Regulation 4 (expected) to be launched in June 2017, which is known also as the “abolition of Roaming” in Europe, fair use policies and surcharges will be made to allow for issues with humans buying sims from the cheapest domestic provider in the EU and using them for domestic services in their own country. It’s anticipated like the FREE Mobile France solution, that limitations will be made on just how many days of regulated roaming a user will be allowed. When considering that an Operator is not provisioning a subscriber on their own network, it makes perfect sense that providing roaming on another network to a customer (whatever their partnership may be) always costs more.

However, what if a subscriber doesn’t care about cost, what if what they are actually looking for is reliable coverage or services and will deliberately pay for excessive use. Why shouldn’t a subscriber get the reliability often required of machines which are roaming, which is often simply use of all the networks in a country.

So if reliability is the core requirement and not cost, Operators could offer their domestic sims (without steering) for permanent use by Corporates who demand that reliability (for example Corporates whose revenue is effected by lack of connectivity, security, financial services etc) in other countries, allowing those businesses who demand mobile and need reliability to profit from a reliable service across not one but all the networks in their country.

These kind of services already exist and naturally so, since pricing is not the most important feature for service, in the end what we really need in a world which is rapidly moving away from permanent fixed devices, is reliable mobile.

Strategy from ROCCO™

Since ROCCO began just over 3 years ago, we have been focussing our efforts on really understanding the marketplace. We think that our neutrality, unique Research insights and wide experience is an asset to finding savings and establishing new revenue opportunities. We use multiple modelling techniques to verify strategy ideas and turn them into sustainable strategic action plans. We have a wide multi-cultural consultant base who we can deploy to deliver detailed projects. Or maybe its just advice you seek? Sometimes a verification of the direction your taking is all thats needed.